#GAPMidAm Qualifier: Elmhurst

Scranton’s Calvert caps #GAPMidAm Qualifier at Elmhurst

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MOSCOW, Pa. — Cory Calvert spent a week in sunny South Carolina prior to Wednesday’s Middle-Amateur Championship Qualifier at Elmhurst Country Club (par 71, 6,485 yards). His golf game wasn’t where it needed to be for his GAP debut.

Calvert clearly corrected any kinks. He carded a 3-over-par 74 to earn medalist honors as well as one of four qualifying positions available for the Championship proper.

The 36^th Middle-Amateur Championship will take place May 22-23 at Rolling Green Golf Club.

“Some late practices are really what [made the difference],” Calvert, 34, of Eynon, Pa., said. “The weather hasn’t been cooperating in the Northeast here, so being able to travel a little bit before today’s event, working out some putting, really helped. I really strapped down and tried to get to a point where I could focus on scoring and not worry about micromanaging my game.”

Calvert, a Country Club of Scranton member of six years, managed his game effectively at Elmhurst. He carded a birdie against four bogeys on the day. A leaky 7-iron from 164 yards and a tugged 8-iron from 154 yards on Nos. 1 (par 4, 408 yards) and 4 (par 4, 389 yards) facilitated front nine missteps. Calvert settled a bit with a swift 4-iron on No. 5 (par 3, 192 yards).

“After that swing, things just clicked,” he said. “From that point on, I turned at 2 over. I thought that was pretty good for what the course was giving and the field that was there. It really got a little bit smoother from No. 5 on.”

Calvert’s lone red figure came on the par 3, 140-yard 16^th hole, where he knocked a 9-iron upwind to the back of the green complex.

“Fortunately, there’s a slope there that brought the ball back to five or six feet. I made a downhill, left-to-right breaker,” he said. “The first birdie of the day is always nice to see. Unfortunately, it came with only two holes left to play. I was somewhat comfortable with my position at that point as far as my score was concerned.”

Calvert annually represents Scranton during the BMW GAP Team Matches. A more flexible calendar in 2019 opened the gate for more competitive golf.

“Last year, I really wanted to start entering some qualifying events, but my schedule didn’t allow,” Calvert, who works in consulting engineering, said. “This year, my schedule freed up a little bit. This was the first tournament I put on my schedule. I just wanted to concentrate on this one, take it one at a time. I thought the Middle-Amateur was a good fit for me, just to work up some experience for the other Majors.”

Elmhurst marked the fourth and final qualifying event for the GAP Middle-Amateur Championship. The event started in 1984, three years after the USGA created the U.S. Mid-Amateur as a formal championship for post-college amateurs.

GAP followed suit with the USGA in creating a Mid-Am, but initially differed in its administration of the tournament in a couple of respects.

The most obvious difference was the age requirement. Prior to 2001, the GAP Middle-Amateur was for players 30 years of age and older.

The Association’s Executive Committee reviewed and revised that age requirement in 2001 to match the USGA’s guidelines of 25 years of age or older for eligible players. At that point, the Committee also changed the format of the event to a two-day stroke play tournament (instead of a one-day medal play event) with a cut to the low 70 players and ties after the first round.

GAP
Celebrating Amateur Golf since 1897, GAP, also known as the Golf Association of Philadelphia, is the oldest regional or state golf association in the United States. It serves as the principal ruling body of amateur golf in its region. The Association’s 274 Full Member Clubs and 75,000 individual members are spread across the Eastern half of Pennsylvania and parts of New Jersey and Delaware. The GAP’s mission is to promote, preserve and protect the game of golf.